To The Grave
by DrummerDancer
Summary: He couldn't give her what she wanted.


Title: To The Grave  
Author: drummerdancer  
Verse: First Anime  
Characters/Pairings: Hohenheim, Dante, mentions of other(s)  
Word Count: 819  
Rating: K+  
Summary: He couldn't give her what she wanted.

* * *

"I'm giving you three days, Hohenheim."

He stared at her, his eyes weathered from age yet still sharp with insight as he lips came together in a frown. She was smiling at him, though to say it was in kindness would be ignorant. There was venom there, hiding behind her newly purpled eyes and fresh young skin.

And it was malicious, to say the least.

"I'm not making another stone for you, Dante," he replied coldly. "We've lived long enough."

Her smile faltered. Hands fisting her plain burgundy dress, Dante crossed the room towards him, her expression of fake pleasantness replaced with barely restrained anger.

She stopped in front of him, making no move to touch him, as if sickened by his mere presence. He couldn't really blame her; he truly was a monster, making them into the immortal creatures that they were. Nobody was supposed to live this long; it was a crime, a taboo, a sin against nature. He had selfishly broken all the rules, though, his own desire for an eternal life with this woman outweighing all other warning signs littering the path.

And for what, so he could leave the woman the second he had eyes for another? His insides burned with guilt, but he refused to give her what she wanted. They _had_ lived long enough; and he was going to take that thought to the grave with him, however soon that would be.

He was prepared for her wrath that he knew he deserved, which was why he was so surprised when her expression softened and her eyes became watery, almost nostalgic, as she stood in front of him.

"Why did you leave, then?" she asked softly, "If it wasn't to prolong your own life, then why…?"

A stab of pain coursed through him, though his body remained still despite her anguish.

"I fell in love with another—"

"As did I!" She paused, then looked away. "Again and again, I loved many men over my lifetime. But I always came back to you! So why…why wasn't I enough? Why did you choose _her_ over me?!"

There were no words to express what he'd done to her. Over four hundreds years, they'd existed; swapping bodies and stealing lives, all for the sake of their survival. They'd go years without seeing each other, only to reunite when both were removed from engagements. Except…

Except when he'd met Trisha. From the first moment he laid eyes on her, Hohenheim had realized then and there that she was the woman he wanted to love until death. Her heart was pure as sunlight, her beauty rivaling none. As he watched her that day, hanging clothes on a line outdoors, hair combed and swept to the side, his heart had ached fiercely for her.

He had wanted children centuries ago, back when he'd first met Dante. However, the trauma of losing their firstborn had been too severe back then to try again; for how did they know that a second and third child weren't going to face the same fate as their first?

But Trisha was motherly, much like his own mother had been centuries ago. She had that something, that special touch, that intuition on how to go about life like her children were always watching.

So Hohenheim had pursued her, courted her until she fell for him. And as such, she soon bore his children.

Something that neither Dante nor him had tried since their first attempt so many years prior.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice resigned. He really had done an awful thing to her, bringing her into this unending life without a shoulder to rest on or a hand to hold. And what made it all the worse was that he didn't regret any of what he'd done. How could he? He had two beautiful sons thanks to Trisha. Even if they despised him…he would always love them, no matter what.

"Save your pity for someone who cares!" she spat, her anger back in full force. Before he could even turn to avoid it, a hand had smacked him square in the cheek, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. He winced; she hadn't held back.

"…You have three days, Hohenheim," she said quietly, her sudden change in composure sounding harsh against the backdrop. "If you don't deliver…well…" she laughed, "Let's just say…I know somebody else who already has. Or rather…two _somebodies._"

And with that, Dante walked away. He watched her leave, confusion etched deep on his features. _Two somebodies? Who in the world would be able to make—_

And then it hit him. His blood ran cold, freezing like ice to his insides as he watched her retreating form.

Edward's arm and leg…

Alphonse's body…

_The human transmutation…_

And he wondered, then, how in the world he supposed to protect them with only three day's time.


End file.
